Parliamentary panel chief writes to Amit Shah to take steps against hate speech

The chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs Anand Sharma on Thursday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to take effective steps against hate speech and curb the practiceThe senior Congress leader has written to Shah asking him to sensitise chief secretaries and director generals of police DGPs of states to take prompt and firm action against those making such speechesSharma who is deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha has also asked the home minister to consider taking legislative action including amendments in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to effectively counter all manifestations of hate speechDrawing Shahs attention towards the growing incidents of hate speech Sharma said these are aimed at targeting certain sections of citizens especially minorities and women which is a matter of serious concernThey are also inflaming passions in order to create an environment of insecurity and distrust he saidHate speech is being used as a tool to promote enmity and disharmony among between different groups on grounds of religion caste ethnicity etc In my opinion if left unchecked this will severely undermine the rule of law and threaten the fundamental right of life liberty and dignity of our citizens Sharma said in his letterI therefore seek your urgent intervention It is requested that the home secretary be advised to sensitise the chief secretaries and DGPs of states to take prompt and firm action to enforce law and secure order he saidFurther the government may consider legislative action including amendments in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to effectively counter all manifestations of hate speech in the larger national interest the Congress leader saidThe Parliamentary Committees chairman said recent incidents and orchestrated acts of violence are making headlines in both national and global mediaThey also tarnish the image of our great country which is the worlds largest democracy Free speech through the quintessence of democracy and enshrined in the Constitution cannot be allowed to be misused to advocate incite promote or justify hatred and violence against a person or community he saidIt is imperative that the spirit of the Constitution is reaffirmed and protected Sharma assertedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever